The Longhorn Republic

The Texas Longhorns have four games left on the schedule with a lot left to prove and the story of the season still unwritten in many ways. If Texas can put up a positive result over the next four weeks, much of the narrative of the season may change in a major way.

Left on the schedule are the Kansas State Wildcats, the Iowa State Cyclones, the conference-leading Baylor Bears and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. What's a fair expectation for the end of the season? How can Texas possibly stick the landing after struggling so mightily on defense?

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It’s the second bye week, so we took the opportunity to preview the Texas Longhorns basketball team as they head toward their tipoff on Nov. 5 against Northern Colorado. Head coach Shaka Smart heads into his fifth season at the helm for the Longhorns, looking to improve on a season that ended as the NIT Champion a year ago.

Texas will likely be helmed by a group of talented guards, with Courtney Ramey, Matt Coleman and Jase Febres leading the charge, as well as a likely return from Andrew Jones and freshman Donovan Williams. The emergence of Jaxson Hayes led him to the NBA, so a rotational group of big men will likely need several contributors to find success in the 2019-2020 season.

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The Texas Longhorns continued to struggle Saturday, a fact that Gary Patterson and the TCU Horned Frogs took full advantage of, en route to a 37-27 win. The Longhorns actually played well against the run, holding the TCU running backs to double-digits on the ground combined, but quarterback Max Duggan had a field day against the Texas defense.

TCU's efforts were aided by offensive struggles, as the coaching staff became more predictable, putting quarterback Sam Ehlinger in bad spots. Ehlinger struggled picking those spots as well, throwing a career-high four interceptions in the loss.

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It will be another test Saturday for the Texas Longhorns as they travel to Fort Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs, a team that Texas has struggled against in recent history. The Horned Frogs have done a good job leaning on their ground game, ranking No. 12 in the country in rushing offense, thanks to the potent combination of Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua.

How will the struggling Texas defense try to slow down the talented Horned Frogs duo?

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The Texas Longhorns were far from sharp on Saturday against the Kansas Jayhawks, needing a last-second field goal to come away with a win. The defense, for the second time this year, turned in an all-time worst performance in a single game, thanks to the Jayhawks taking advantage of a banged up secondary.

On the ground, Pooka Williams did what he does, bringing in 190 rushing yards, helping set up the Jayhawks in better position for later downs.

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The Texas Longhorns are looking to get back on track Saturday as they honor the 1969 National Championship team when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks at home.

Texas struggled on both sides of the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners, but still managed to keep things close with a shot to recover an onside kick at the end. There is definitely room for improvement and hopefully Texas can get things figured out against the Jayhawks.

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The Texas Longhorns fell behind early against the Oklahoma Sooners and were never able to complete the comeback, falling 34-27 in Dallas to send the Golden Hat to Norman.

Offensively, Sam Ehlinger struggled, turning in his first performance this season without a passing touchdown, but contributing one on the ground. Roschon Johnson turned in another fine performance, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown, trying to spark the offense late.

Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando looked out-matched, as the injuries continue to pile up for his unit while Texas marches through the Big 12.

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The week has been circled on the calendar since the Big 12 Championship game a year ago and now the matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners is finally here. Oklahoma is an offensive juggernaut once again, helmed by Alabama Crimson Tide transfer Jalen Hurts.

However, the question once again how well the Sooners defense can hold up against Sam Ehlinger and the Texas Longhorns' offense.

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In spite of a slow start, the Texas Longhorns played well Saturday and came away with a win over the West West Virginia Mountaineers. Sam Ehlinger did what Sam Ehlinger does, turning in a four-touchdown performance, while Roschon Johnson finished the game with 21 carries for 121 yards.

Defensively, Texas was able to turn Austin Kendall over four times, including a two-interception performance from D'Shawn Jamison.

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The Texas Longhorns head to Morgantown for their first true road game of the year, taking on the West Virginia Mountaineers hoping to right one of the wrongs from the 2018 season.

WVU has struggled a bit on both sides of the ball, and with many Texas players still on the mend, it may serve as an opportunity to get some players up to speed, while also allowing for fine-tuning of position groups. B.J. Foster returns from injury, giving Texas yet another defender to add to the mix in the secondary, while Sam Ehlinger works to break in more receivers and spread the ball around.

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Intro and Outro: Earth, Wind, Fire (Ryan Little / CC BY-SA 4.0 )

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